The weather is slowly starting to become favorable for the millions of golfers across the country. So, let’s talk golf…

At a first glance, the picture above appears to represent the ultimate violation of golf etiquette – wearing high heels on the green. Luckily, there’s a story behind the picture that will clear it all up – hopefully.

This picture was taken about a year ago, during the 2015 Detroit Lions Rookie Etiquette Training. Before each training segment, Scarlet gives an overview of the expectations and how etiquette ties in to the activity that the players were about to engage in. So, with that, please don’t put us on the naughty list. We really were just doing our job. 🙂

While we just narrowly escaped a bad etiquette citation, there are a number of other golf etiquette guidelines to make note of if you’re going to take advantage of an opportunity to golf this spring and summer:

Give Your Cell Phone A Break: We all love our technology – Scarlet included, and of course if there’s an emergency, step out-of-the-way and take the call, but excessive phone usage while golfing isn’t cool. Also, be sure to silence or place your phone on vibrate.

Drive Your Golf Cart Responsibly: This is golf, not the Indy 500. Take your time while driving and avoid running anyone down. (even if they’re the opposing group)

MOOOOVEEEE – Get Out The Way: Avoid walking in someone’s line of play on the putting green. Learn where to stand and when to keep quiet.

Look The Part: Your appearance and speaks volumes about you before you even say a word. Take time to select and wear clothing that is comfortable and appropriate for the game.

Be A Good Sport: At the end of the round, shake hands with other players, congratulate the winners, don’t taught the losers too much, and thank them for their company. Keep in mind that the best part of the game is the time you get to spend with your friends whether old ones or new friends you just made during the game.

Scarlet Says…golf is the pastime for over 60 million people all over the world. Just like many of our other favorite sports like football, basketball and hockey, there is a prescribed and necessary set of rules and appropriate attire. Adhering to these few rules will ensure that you and everyone else enjoys this great weather and the golf that comes along with it.

Want more information on Golf Etiquette, check out, this list from PGA.

Apr 16

What is it that you definitively LOVE? Is it traveling, shopping, cooking, your mate, FOOTBALL? If it’s football, today is definitely your day, since the NFL Draft kicks off this evening.

Speaking of football…while I was quickly shuffling from one plane to the next over the weekend, I saw a gentleman with this shirt on. Now, while I have my fair share of football knowledge and for the 5th straight year, Scarlet will be providing the Detroit Lions Rookies multi day etiquette training, I do not attest to being a football fanatic. So my first reaction to this shirt was an eye roll (in my mind).

Of course, I was walking alongside my husband who thought that the shirt was the absolutely best thing he had seen this year.

We are a household who listens to sports talk radio pretty much every day, even when the sport of choice (football) isn’t in season. So as you can imagine, we’re almost always on sports overload during every season of the year.

Now, let’s be clear. I knew EXACTLY what I was signing up for when marrying a sports aficionado a few years ago, so I keep most of my griping to myself. More importantly, when an eye roll starts to try to make an appearance, I remind myself that my husband isn’t the only one who has some borderline obsessive behavior, as it relates to thing things he enjoys doing. My love for cheese, deep house music and all things etiquette can sometimes border on obsessive as well. Despite this, I can say that there is a continual purposeful attempt to not over expose (or annoy) each other with our own individual likes, loves and obsessions. (READ MORE)...

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Mar 16

I hate to break the news to you, but we’ve already seen 1/4th of this year pass us by! It is the absolutely last day of March and some of you may be wondering, when am I going to find the time to do all of those amazing things that I had on my list of resolutions?!?!

Well, just like we recycle and remix music, past fashion trends, movies and TV shows, we have the pleasure of doing the same thing as it relates to our personal growth and goals.

In January, we placed a strong focus on Goal Settingand in February, we followed it up with Staying Focused. If you’ve found yourself struggling to determine where your time went, what you’ve truly accomplished this year or what your next steps should be, don’t look too far or too hard because the help that you need is just a few lines up highlighted in blue and conveniently underlined.

We spend so much time trying to figure things out or work on ourselves that often times, the answers are right in front of us. If you are trying to focus on professional development for yourself, you have an arsenal of information at your fingertips via the internet. You probably also have a slew of books on your book shelf that you’ve been meaning to visit (or revisit) at some point in your life. You also likely have a network of friends, family acquaintances who are skilled in something that you want to be proficient in…(READ MORE)

May 15

Guess what week it is! It’s National Etiquette Week and Scarlet will not miss this opportunity to get in on the action! You can look out for fun opportunities to engage with Scarlet all week long.

Monday: Kick off your week with positivity and thanks! Write 3 people a hand written thank you note thanking them for something that they’ve done for you. Believe me – they’ll remember and it’ll get you some major relationship building points. We stopped by Michael’s and they have a fantastic sale on thank you cards!

Tuesday: Share your etiquette pet peeves! The only way we can really live, work and play together is if we’re aware of how to best engage with each other. Share these pet peeves on our Facebook wall, by tagging us on Twitter or even tagging us in a photo on Instagram! We look forward to seeing your posts! Don’t forget the hashtag: #scarletetiquetteweek2015

Wednesday: What’s one etiquette rule that you think should totally go out the door? We embrace modern, real-world etiquette so we’re dying to know your thoughts! Share your items on our Facebook wall, by tagging us on Twitter or even tagging us in a photo on Instagram! We look forward to seeing your posts! Don’t forget the hashtag: #scarletetiquetteweek2015

Thursday: If there were a Scarlet Award – an award for someone who exemplifies what it means to be considerate of others, embrace perspectives and has a great sense of style, let us know. This doesn’t need to be the quintessential standard of what “style” normally is. This could be someone who just has their own flare, style or look. Who do you know? Let us know! Post about them on our Facebook wall, by tagging us and them on Twitter or even uploading a photo of them and tagging us on Instagram! We look forward to seeing your posts! Don’t forget the hashtag: #scarletetiquetteweek2015

Friday: If you could change your workplace by enforcing this one office etiquette practice. What would it be? Share your item on our Facebook wall, by tagging us on Twitter or even tagging us in a photo on Instagram! We look forward to seeing your posts! Don’t forget the hashtag: #scarletetiquetteweek2015

We are super siked about all your upcoming posts this week! If you don’t want to engage online, but you still want to share, simply email us at info@scarletcomm.com.

We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Until Next Time,

Scarlet

04

May 15

Now that one of the biggest sports weekends of the year is over, it’s time to rate yourself! How did you do? Were you in compliance? Well, Scarlet has to throw in her draft pick choices! We’re not talking about the player choices… we’ll leave that up to you! Let’s talk about the draft party pick choices. As you prepare to have people over later this year, or even engage in conversation about who you think will go to which team, consider these few things:

Having People Over? : Where will your guests sit? The NFL draft is a lengthy process. Think through where people will sit. Now, this doesn’t have to be a fancy affair where you rent out fancy chivari chairs and such. Some bean bags and folding chairs will likely do.

Engaging In Debate:Debates are fine. I mean, who doesn’t get rowled up about a great player coming to their home team?! But, don’t let your passion for the game result in ruining a friendship or two. Debate…in moderation please.

Food. Drink. BYOB. : If you’re inviting a few folks over, plan to at least have a few snacks for them to nibble on. Don’t feel indebted to laying out a four course meal, but remember that for many, the draft starts during peak dinner time. You might even consider having guests bring a dish or beverage to keep the party going.

Are You An Internet Thug?:Avoid being that human that uses the internet to post, say, share and communicate things that you know you wouldn’t say in real life. Some friendly back and forth banter and maybe even some good old fashioned smack talk is OK, but when you seek to cross the offensive line or make personal jabs about someone, you’ve probably gone too far.

Bring Something:If you are lucky enough to be invited over to an NFL Draft Party, bring something…anything. There are always the safe go to’s for this kind of shin dig like: wine, beer, chips, pretzels, dip, salsa, etc! If you know the host(s) well, do go out on a limb and bring something that you know they’d like. Whatever you do, just don’t go empty handed.

Enjoy your many other sports weekends this year!

I’ll see you again soon!

– Scarlet

23

Mar 15

Have you been bowling before? Bowling is a simple, fun activity that people of all ages can engage in. But, I’ll be honest, there is one part of bowling that seemed so foolish and annoying that I used to glare from afar wondering, “what’s the point?”

That thing is the infamous high fivin’ and fist pounding after each player went to roll their bowl down the lane. I mean, let’s just do the numbers here. Each game generally has 10 frames. If you engaged in high fives and fist pounds after each and every player, with just four people playing, you will dish out over 40 hand slaps. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a whole lot of hand slappin’ – much more than I was interested in or excited about engaging in, at least until I did it.

Last Saturday, alongside our good friends who were recently engaged, I went out on a limb and minimized my negative thinking about how foolish and pointless that I thought the act of over engaging in high fives was. And, guess what happened? I had a down right blast! We played 3 games straight and I was all over the high fives and fist bumps AND I even played better than I ever have before. The reality is that high fivin’, not using other people’s balls and avoiding eating near or around the bowling lanes are just the basic etiquette principles of bowling and once I embraced these things and let my guard down, I actually enjoyed the experience.

Scarlet Says… sometimes we spend so much time complaining, whining and trying to voice our concerns about much we don’t like something that we end up missing out on the stuff that we actually just might like. Before you definitively box out the things that you don’t like, give them a try first…you just might be missing out on your new favorite thing.

Until Next Time,

Scarlet

05

May 14

You can almost smell it in the air! The first sign of the return of the NFL season is only a few days away. On Thursday, May 8th, the first round of the NFL Draft begins. Are you planning to make an evening of it? Well, Scarlet has to throw in her draft pick choices! We’re not talking about the player choices… we’ll leave that up to you! Let’s talk about the draft party pick choices. As you prepare to have people over, or even engage in conversation about who you think will go to which team, consider these few things:

Having People Over? : Where will your guests sit? The NFL draft is a lengthy process. Think through where people will sit. Now, this doesn’t have to be a fancy affair where you rent out fancy chivari chairs and such. Some bean bags and folding chairs will likely do.

Engaging In Debate:Debates are fine. I mean, who doesn’t get rowled up about a great player coming to their home team?! But, don’t let your passion for the game result in ruining a friendship or two. Debate…in moderation please.

Food. Drink. BYOB. : If you’re inviting a few folks over, plan to at least have a few snacks for them to nibble on. Don’t feel indebted to laying out a four course meal, but remember that for many, the draft starts during peak dinner time. You might even consider having guests bring a dish or beverage to keep the party going.

Are You An Internet Thug?:Avoid being that human that uses the internet to post, say, share and communicate things that you know you wouldn’t say in real life. Some friendly back and forth banter and maybe even some good old fashioned smack talk is OK, but when you seek to cross the offensive line or make personal jabs about someone, you’ve probably gone too far.

Bring Something:If you are lucky enough to be invited over to an NFL Draft Party, bring something…anything. There are always the safe go to’s for this kind of shin dig like: wine, beer, chips, pretzels, dip, salsa, etc! If you know the host(s) well, do go out on a limb and bring something that you know they’d like. Whatever you do, just don’t go empty handed.

Enjoy your draft party experiences this week!

I’ll see you again soon!

– Scarlet

20

Jan 14

Are you smart? Attractive? Good at your job? Have a gift of gab? Chances are, you are good at something, as you should be. While there really isn’t a problem with being good at something, there is a problem with being so good at something that you are unwilling to get any better and there is ALWAYS room for improvement. So, how do you get better? How do we keep our looming egos in check and under control so that we can embrace the possibilities of ongoing improvement? Below are three ways to keep our egos in check and embrace continuous improvement and learning:

Actively Listen: We recently did an entire blog post on actively listening, because it is so essential to practicing good etiquette and to our personal growth. Just think about the last few conversations that you had. Were you actively listening or were you waiting (impatiently) for your chance to give your opining or feedback? Sometimes, we are so anxious to give our own opinion that we really haven’t even listened to the real situation at hand. Regardless of how much you think you know about a matter being discussed, actively listen so that you’ll be sure that you have the facts and appropriate information. For more on actively listening, click HERE.

Respect Perspectives: You have an opinion and you are entitled to it; so does everyone else in your life. Chances are, your five closest friends have completely different backgrounds, educational paths, college majors and career choices. The experiences that we all have cause us to have different perspectives. It’s virtually impossible for two people to have the exact same set of experiences in life. Because of this, we all end up with slightly different perspectives. During your next conversation, debate or disagreement, before you make a snap judgment about someone, their decisions or their outlook, ask yourself (or them), what is their perspective?

Dream A Little: “We always do it like that”, “That’s never been done” and “That can’t be done” are phrases that stunt your imagination and growth. They are also phrases that are usually ego driven. Innovation and change can easily cause a sense of fear and hesitation, but they also produce some of the best ideas and solutions. Managing your ego means being open to the possibility that perhaps “my way” isn’t the best and only way to get something done. Daydream, think outside the box and consider new options. Perhaps there really is a better way to get something that you’ve always done more efficiently and effectively.

Until next time,

– Scarlet

09

Jan 14

ASK SCARLET: Scarlet…It’s a woman at the gym who is simply stunning. She clearly is about her business in that she speaks to no one, but simply goes about her routine time and time again practicing no distractions. What’s the best way to approach this woman in a respectable fashion that doesn’t deter her from her diligence? – Gym Admirer

SCARLET SAYS: In this situation, like most of life, timing is everything. It’s clear that she is there for business, so you really do want to capitalize on or create an opportune time to meet up and chat with her (without being or displaying any hint of “stalker-like” activity). Do you normally arrive at the gym or leave around the same time? Those times are usually best to talk to someone at the gym, not smack dab in the middle of their work out. Another strategy is involving a like acquaintance. Know someone in common? It may be time to ask for an introduction. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

– SCARLET

13

Nov 13

The holidays are quickly approaching, and during this time, many of us have a hard time keeping in shape due to the many dinners, shopping trips, parties, happy hours, and yummy office treats. One can gain up to 5 to 10 pounds during this time. However, one can still enjoy all of these joyous festivities and keep those unwanted pounds off, by following a few healthy tips.

Plan ahead. Make a workout schedule. Workout at least 3 times a week for 20 minutes, and stick to it.

Find a workout buddy, to keep each other accountable.

Keep a food journal, so you can see what you have eaten.

Google workout videos on YouTube or bodybuilding.com, that you can do at home or while traveling.

Organize family workouts by signing up for a local turkey trot or Jingle- All the- Way 5K. Plan family football games, go for walks after dinner, and, if it’s snowing, have a snowball fight.

Skip the elevator; take the stairs.

Drink plenty of water before meals.

Modify alcoholic drinks to one or two. Stick to wine or clear drinks. Beware of fruity drinks, they contain plenty of calories. Drink water between alcoholic drinks.

Bring a healthy dish to parties.

While at the party, do not hang out at the appetizer table while socializing. Go for veggies or water based appetizers first.